Battle Between Camps: War Games
by ImpossibleSociety
Summary: It's ultimate capture-the-flag game between Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter. Which side will end up victorious? Takes place after BoO. Oneshot. Complete.


**I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or The Heroes of Olympus. In honor of Percy's birthday!**

* * *

It wasn't Percy's first time being nearly electrocuted. He reared back, slipping in his haste, as a billion volts of lightning seared its way into the ground in front of him. Percy could feel the hairs on his arm start to singe. Jumping back up to his feet, he carefully avoided the now charred ground.

"Watch it, Sparky!" Jason didn't respond, but the grin on his lips made it clear that he had heard Percy's warning. Floating in the air, Jason gave him a small salute before rocketing off to the other side of the battlefield.

The game hadn't even started and Jason was taking cheap shots. Figured. Both camps had gone their separate ways, each discussing their strategies for winning. Reyna circled above on Blackjack, a temporary replacement for Scipio. The medic eagles flew behind them. Nico had decided to sit the game out, watching from an observation tower as usual.

Annabeth's calculating voice brought his focus back. Glancing around him, faces familiar as his own smiled in anticipation.

"Ares, you guys are on offense." Annabeth pointed at a map laid flat in the middle of the circle. Clarisse cracked her knuckles, eyes glinting through her helmet. The other Ares kids laughing menacingly and shared high-fives, making Percy roll is eyes. "Surround the Romans and wait for my signal. Do _not_ attack before that. And stay within the tree line. Take out anyone that comes your way, but don't bother following anyone. That's what Hermes is for."

Connor and Travis Stoll shared a glance. Everyone knew what that meant. "Hermes kids," Annabeth started, a warning evident in her tone, "disperse into groups of two or three keep yourselves hidden, and bring down _anyone_ in our way."

Percy started to lose interest after that. He twirled Rihptide in hand before uncapping it, gripping it lightly as it sprung into full length. Campers around him readied their weapons and armor.

A horn sounded in the distance, making the entire camp disperse into their positions. Annabeth's hand grazed Percy's and a familiar tingle raced up his arm. He wasn't sure if his reaction to her would ever fade. He hoped not.

"Ready, Seaweed Brain?" She tucked her baseball cap into her pocket and grabbed her drakon bone sword, looking as fierce as Percy had ever seen her.

Instead of responding, he threw her the grin she hated when they had first met. She glared back, and the two charged into battle.

* * *

It was chaos. Balls of fire hurtled haphazardly through the air. The screeching of metal clashing against metal tore into Percy's eardrums. He and Annabeth crouched to the side, hopefully out of the eyesight of the fortresses. He could just make out the voice of Frank, who was shouting out commands.

Calling the two camps similar would have been like comparing Ares to Aphrodite. The Romans had quickly built walls to surround the five towers, one of which held their banner. Everything was out in the open, exuding a confidence that screamed, "Come and get it!" After seeing Percy's display with the water cannons, they had obviously decided to equip themselves with fiery catapults. Percy was thrilled. Just what he needed. To burn to death.

The cohorts assembled themselves into formation. Not a person was out of place. The Greeks, on the other hand, told a different story. Opposite to the Romans' fortress, at the other side of the battlefield, there was no one to be seen. Camp Half-Blood had hidden itself in the thick forest. Their flag had been lopsidedly placed at the top of a tall heap of rocks, and Percy knew because he was the one that put it there.

The Hephaestus kids took the brunt of the attack, charging with their newly forged contraptions. Leo shouted obscenities, flinging fire from his hands and pulling random bits out of his tool belt. A fireball landed directly in front of him, and Percy heard him shout, " _Really_? You want to get me with fire? I _am_ fire, baby!" He promptly burst into flames.

The Third and Fourth Cohorts advanced at a slow but sure pace. In turtle formation, they blocked the majority of the attacks being hurled their way.

At that moment, the Aphrodite cabin joined the fun. A surge of panic swept over the Roman side. Piper darted forward, shouting things so convincingly that Percy had to fight the urge to listen. Voice laced thick with charmspeak, she stopped just a few feet away from the Third Cohort and commanded, "Fall over!" Most of the formation flopped to the ground as if their legs had been cut out from underneath them, leaving the remaining few standing on wobbly legs.

Annabeth raised her fingers to her lips, ready to signal for the Ares cabin. Percy motioned for her to wait. Things were going well. _Too_ well. If he knew anything, Percy knew that the Romans wouldn't go down without a fight.

"A decoy," he muttered to himself. "It's a decoy."

He hadn't meant for Annabeth to hear, but her eyes widened at his words.

"Of course! I should've thought of that-" She was cut off as a cheer sounded in the distance.

A Roman cheer.

"You go," Annabeth stayed, her voice as steely as her eyes. "I'll take care of things here."

Knowing better than to argue with her, Percy simply reached to place a kiss on her forehead, which disappeared a few seconds later, thanks to her baseball cap.

"Annabeth?" He asked. But she was already gone.

Percy took off in the opposite direction, following the sounds of Hannibal's excited trumpeting.

The next step he took was a mistake. Just the faintest blur of tan was enough to send him rocketing back twenty feet. Riptide was wrenched from his hand as he landed on his back. Wheezing and trying to sit up, he heard a quiet "Sorry!" and saw a flash of brown curls. Arion chimed in with his own opinion, which included curses Percy hadn't even heard before. With a final triumphant whinny, the duo were off, leaving Percy in the dust.

Groaning and reaching for his sword, Percy slowly rose to his feet. At a much slower pace than before he headed off to the sounds of the Romans, only to be intercepted by Will Solace.

Will raised a finger to his lips before Percy could say anything. Seconds later, Jason flew past overhead, only to be bombarded with a swarm of arrows. They seemed to come from nowhere; the Apollo cabin shot arrow after arrow under the cover of the trees. Twisting this way and that, Jason barely managed to avoid getting hit, but it caused him to go spiraling towards the ground. Percy felt bad for the guy, but he couldn't help the smirk that escaped him.

He turned to Will. "You guys should get to Jupiter's side and see if the others need help."

Will nodded. "Connor and Travis are gods knows where, but they'll back you up. Hopefully." With that helpful reassurance, Will clapped Percy on the shoulder and took off, calling out to his siblings as he did.

For the third and hopefully last time, Percy set out for _wherever_ the other camp was. Jogging lightly, he passed a Roman camper strung up by his ankles, no doubt the work of the Hermes cabin. At a second glance Percy realized it was Dakota, who was swinging wildly as he tried to grab his _pilum_ from the forest floor. For a moment Percy thought about helping him, before dismissing the idea. He'd get out eventually, right?

Finally reaching the source of the fighting, he grinned. This was his element. Without hesitating he jumped into action, whirling his blade and knocking people over. He used the Romans' technique against them, catching them off guard as they thrust forward with their swords. Percy slashed Riptide around, causing weapons to come clattering to the ground. He catapulted over other demigods, slamming their helmets together.

"Spread out!" one of the campers shouted.

 _They hadn't found the flag_ , Percy belatedly realized.

He turned to the nearest Half-Blood camper. "Tighten the defense around the flag. It's now or never."

As is backing up his statement, a battle cry echoed from the other side of the field. "Take _that_ , dumbass!"

That could only mean one thing.

The Ares cabin had been signaled.

Percy ran back to the fortress.

* * *

Percy did not like Frank The Dragon. Sure, it may have seemed cool at first, but he rather liked his eyebrows as they were, not smoldering piles of ash. Dragon Frank's leathery wings beat harshly in the air as arrows bounced harmlessly off him. He swooped down, plucking up campers two at a time and flying them to a deserted area of the forest. Just as Percy was defeating a camper, he turned around to see Frank aiming right for him. He could almost hear him calling, _Sorry, dude._

There was a tightening in his gut _._ Percy raised his hand. Hundreds of thousands of gallons of water knocked Frank out of the sky, as well as a dozen campers around him, who were wiped out like bowling pins.

Behind Frank were the five towers, the Hephaestus cabin had decimated the walls surrounding them; red hot pieces of metal and burning wood were all that remained. The Athena cabin as well as Clarisse and her siblings had started to scale the walls of the towers in search of the banner. A flash of golden hair appeared in the corner of Percy's eye as Annabeth took off her cap. She entered the small room at the top of the tower, and there was the brief sound of struggle before a First Cohort camper went sailing over the side of the fort. Three other campers followed.

Percy readied himself to climb up but was interrupted yet again. Frank, who was back in human form, called out a command. Bows were drawn instantaneously. Another shout. Arrows rained down, causing the Apollo cabin to retaliate. Off to the side, Percy could hear Piper growling, "Stop shooting! Spin around! Stop!"

As the assault of arrows slowly lessened, he screamed, "Greeks! Attack!" Manic cheers echoed across the battlefield.

Percy spun. He couldn't explain what tipped him off, but he was glad it did. Jason had been about two millimeters away from impaling him.

Without a word the two started to fight. Feinting to he right, Percy realized Jason was trying to work his way backwards to the fortress. He wasn't going to let that happen.

The first sparks of lighting crackled in the air. Percy could have sworn his hair stood on end as the atmosphere charged with electricity.

The beginning of a storm was brewing. Percy could feel it. The familiar sensation in his abdomen pulled at him, and-

The world around them exploded in a flash of light. Lightning and water struck at the same time. A deafening boom rocked the battlefield; water sprayed everywhere and steam hissed loudly. Everyone stood speechless, stunned at what had just happened.

Everyone except one person. In the middle of the field, a fist tightly grasped a banner and held it in the air.

"The game is won!" Reyna called.

"Assemble for honors!"

* * *

Everyone was dead on their feet. Although they were tired, spirits were high as demigods from both camps recounted the events of the game.

"That kid Leo is crazy! I almost caught on fire," a camper from the Third Cohort exclaimed.

"At least _you_ weren't thrown out of a tower," another grumbled.

Laughter echoed from the pavilion as food was being served. Percy was on his fourth slice of pizza when a familiar figure plopped down on the bench beside him.

"Nice going, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth praised, raising one eyebrow. A memory of her clutching the flag flashed through Percy's mind.

Another person appeared in front of him, smiling widely. "Yeah, nice job, Jackson," Jason admitted.

"But I'm taking you down next time."

Percy only laughed.

"We'll see."

* * *

 **Reviews are always appreciated! Thanks to zoetat for helping me out with this oneshot!**


End file.
